Believe in your Destiny
by Nietzchian
Summary: The backstory of Pyrrha Nikos, her family, and how she became a champion before she entered Beacon.
1. A Meeting

*CLANG* *CLANG* *CLANG*

"Ugh…"

A little girl rubbed her eyes and stretched as she rose up from her bed. She could see the sun shining through the window and beaming onto her bookshelf.

*CLANG* *CLANG* *CLANG*

"What is that noise?" The girl muttered to herself. Fully awake by now, she slipped out of her bed, put on her slippers, and grabbed the stuffed rabbit on her bed. Yawning a little bit, she made her way out of the room and down the stairs of her home. As she entered the kitchen, she noticed the smell of sausages. A woman a bit on the plump side with brown, close-cut hair hummed over the stove as she worked, only to turn and smile.

"Good morning, Pyrrha." The woman smiled.

Pyrrha smiled back and ran into her arms with a huge hug.

"Good morning, mother." She mumbled.

"Now how is my little sweet? Clearly filled with energy today, even before I've made breakfast! Is there anything you want this morning?"

"I'll be fine with whatever you make, mother." Pyrrha responded. "We all know your cooking is the best."

"Thank you, my dear." Pyrrha's mother smiled. "I'll be finished in a few moments, why don't you take the dishes and set them-"

*CLANG* *CLANG* *CLANG*

The exact same noise from earlier appeared, and Pyrrha jumped. Her mother sighed and looked out the window, putting her hands to her hips.

"Honestly, those three. There's no need to take things this far, this early in the morning."

Pyrrha waited a little bit to see if her mother would say anything more. But instead, she turned back to the stove and got back to work. Pyrrha peeked out the window, but could not see anything.

"What is going out there, mother?"

"Training." Her mother sighed. "Coach Phillip is out there, along with your father and brother. I do not know why they have to train before breakf-"

"BROTHER'S HERE?! HE'S BACK?!"

"Pyrrha!" Her mother raised her voice. "There is no need to shout like that. But yes, Anausa is here. He is back from the tournament."

"I-I'm sorry, mom." Pyrrha looked down on the floor for a moment, clutching her stuffed rabbit. "But did he win?"

"You could ask him yourself. I'm sure he misses you too. Why don't you go on ahead and talk to him? Would actually encourage him to stop and rest for a bit."

She turned back towards the stove to flip some of the sausages, then looked back in her daughter's direction.

"And while you're at it, could you tell them breakfast will be ready in ten-"

The only thing there was her stuffed rabbit. Pyrrha's mother sighed, picked the toy up, and set it by the nearby table.

…

…

Pyrrha only took the time to take off her slippers and put on a pair of sandals before she barreled out the door. The Nikos home was respectably large, but what made it special to her was the huge backyard. Her father always said that he wanted a big place for his children to play in, and Pyrrha certainly believed that it was the Best Place in the World.

But because the yard was so large, she actually could not see her brother when she left the door. Not that it mattered. Pyrrha knew exactly where he would be. She ran towards the middle of the field, only to hear that clanging noise again.

Three people were standing there. A stout, red-headed man stood a little apart from the other two. A taller man was standing, and lying on the ground was…

"BROTHER!"

Pyrrha's brother only had time to lift his upper body off the ground before he was tackled by his sister. He slammed flat on the ground, but that did not stop from bringing his arms around her.

"Hey, Pyrrha!" He laughed, stroking her shoulder-length hair. "How are you doing?"  
"How are you doing?" Pyrrha grinned back at him. "Mom told me you came back from the tournament. The big tournament. The Mistrali Regional Tournament. Did you win? Did you win?"

"I…" Anausa's grin faded a little bit, and he looked away from her and towards the other red-haired man. The other man laughed as he looked at the two of them.

"He did as well as he could." He said. "Got to the third round, eh? You may not have won, but it is a respectable showing for a tournament of that size. Right, my boy?"

"Right, father." Anausa softly said. "It is."

Pyrrha looked at Anausa's face for a bit and then just giggled and hugged him again. He hugged her back as he smiled once again. But then a shadow loomed over the two of them as Pyrrha took a better look at the third person.

He was tall and thin. While he was clearly older than Pyrrha's father given the wrinkles on his face, his brown hair and pencil mustache were perfectly trimmed. He kept his arms behind his back as he stared down at the two of them without any emotion, and a longsword dangled at his side.

"So." He finally said. "You must be Pyrrha Nikos. That boy talks quite a bit about you. You are energetic."

Without waiting for a response, he bent down so that his face was at Pyrrha's level.

"My name is Phillip." He said. "I am that boy's coach. It is a pleasure to meet you."

"Hi, Phillip." Pyrrha answered. "So you help my brother get strong! Is he really good?"

Phillip looked at Pyrrha, then at Anausa. Without answering the question, he stood back up and looked down at the two of them.

"How old are you, Pyrrha?" He finally said. "Ten? Eleven?"

"Eight, actually."

"Tall for your age then. Five years younger than your brother." Phillip nodded. "Eight was when I started training to become a Hunter."

Pyrrha's eyes widened.

"You are a Hunter!" She cried. "So that means you're a hero, right? You fight and beat the Grimm and other bad guys?"

"I was one." Phillip coolly said. "It has been a long time since I was deployed to fight those monsters. Things were different back then."

Pyrrha nodded, taking in every world Phillip said like it spelled the truth of the universe. But then her eyebrows furrowed as she looked at the sword dangling at his sword.

"Is that your Hunter weapon?" She asked. "Did you fight Grimm with that?"

"This is just an ordinary sword." Phillip pulled it out. "I see no reason to use my actual Hunter weapons against your brother. Not until he improves."

Pyrrha frowned a bit at that, but then looked over at Anausa.

"Brother, where's your spear?"

Anausa gave an embarrassed grin at her puzzled expression.

"Coach knocked them away while we were sparring. They are over there."

He pointed to his right, and Pyrrha could see a long spear sticking out of the ground, along with a large shield.

"I'll go get them!" She cried out, running towards them before anyone could react. When she got there, she looked down on the weapons. The white and blue shield was almost as tall as she was, and the spear blade was almost as thin as her little finger. Without any hesitation, she picked them up and carried them to her brother, dropping them with a thud.

"Here you go!" She said.

But no one said anything, and so Pyrrha looked up. Her father and brother seemed to be staring at her with surprise. Meanwhile, Phillip seemed to be as expressionless as ever, but Pyrrha could see his eyes glinting.

"Is something wrong?" She asked. "Did I carry them wrong?"

"No." Phillip instantly answered. "Nothing is wrong."

But that didn't stop Pyrrha from looking at their strange expressions. She opened her mouth again-

"Breakfast is ready! You people can stop training for a second in your lives. Come in, eat. All of you!"

Everyone turned to see mother standing in the yard, her arms folded in front of her. Pyrrha jumped up and ran towards her, her question forgotten. Anausa then stood up and grabbed Pyrrha in her arms, plopping the laughing girl on her shoulders.

"Who wants a piggy-back ride?"

"I do! I do!"

Laughing, the two of them ran into the house, leaving Anausa's weapons on the ground. Pyrrha's father looked down at them before picking them up.

"Anausa has trouble handling their weight at times." He muttered. "But Pyrrha…"

"Indeed." Phillip answered.

Without saying anything else, the two of them headed to the kitchen.

…

…

"Your cooking is the best, mom!"

Anausa spooned the last of the eggs into his mouth before handing his plate back to his mother.

"You should always eat well when you're young." She said. "When you're my age, you always have to worry about what's healthy and what is not. So enjoy good food whenever you can."

"Hear, hear, Helena." Pyrrha's father nodded, sipping on his coffee before pouring another cup for Phillip. "And come on, Phillip. At least try some."

"I can function perfectly well without the use of stimulants." Phillip answered as he set down a glass of milk. "At any rate, thank you for the meal, Mrs. Nikos. You too, Patroclus."

"Think nothing of it!"

As breakfast went on, Pyrrha couldn't help but grin at all of the chatter. She speared a sausage with her fork, and bit down on it as she watched her father, then her mother, and then her brother and his coach. She grinned, chewed…

"BLARRRGH!"

…and spat the sausage out, coughing all the while.

"Pyrrha?" Her father suddenly stood up. "What's wrong?"

"Hot, hot, hot, hot! It's hot! It's…"

As Pyrrha guzzled down some milk, she looked to her right. Her brother was pointedly staring away from her at the opposite wall, but that did not stop her from noticing the bottle of hot sauce sitting to his right.

"Brother!" She yelled out, hitting his arms with clenched fists.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry." Anausa laughed. "I won't do it again, I swear on my life!"

"You've done this before! And you said those exact words then too!"

"Oh yeah, I did."

Pyrrha glared daggers at Anausa, who stood up and put the bottle back in the cabinet.

"Okay, I'm actually sorry." He said. "How about I make it up to you, Pyrrha? What do you want to do? I can get you some pastries tomorrow."

Pyrrha almost said yes to the idea, but then stopped as she put a finger to her lips. After a moment, she nodded.

"I don't want any gifts." She said. "I just want to spend today with you."

"O-oh." Anausa put a hand behind his face. "Well, I'm kind of busy today. Coach and I are going to practice after breakfast and for most of the day, so it's hard to make time for you…"

"W-what?" Pyrrha stared up at him, green eyes shimmering in disappointment.

"Well, maybe…how about you can come watch me train? Maybe you can do some running, or see what I do when I train for those tournaments. Would that be okay? I mean, as long as Coach does not have a problem with it." He quickly looked over at him.

Phillip just looked at Anausa for a long time, then over at Pyrrha. His eyes then flitted over to Pyrrha's father, who just shrugged.

"I have no objections." He finally said.

"Well, there it is." Anausa laughed nervously. "So how about it, Pyrrha? Would you like to watch me train?"

The little girl nodded before she jumped up and hugged Anausa. Anausa hugged her back, and Pyrrha's mom laughed as she watched the two of them.

…

…

Pyrrha really didn't know what training entailed.

Oh, she knew what exercise was. Exercise was important to keep your body fit, everyone knew that. But there was running a few laps at school, and then there was this.

The minute breakfast was over, Philip took Anausa back outside. He then gave her brother his spear and shield back and told him to thrust the weapon. Again, and again, and again. And almost every single time, he would tell him how he got it wrong.

"Too slow."

"You are leaving your right side open."

"Harder."

"Harder."

"Harder."

Philip never yelled. In fact, he never even raised his voice. But that just made each one of his cold remarks even harsher.

After that, they ran. Pyrrha tried to keep up with them at first, but her legs were just too small to keep stride with them. But in the distance, she could see her brother run like his life depended on it. While he struggled, Phillip jogged alongside him without breathing hard.

After running, it was pushups, sit-ups, and all sorts of exercises which she didn't recognize. And while Anausa kept it up with nary a complaint, Philip never seemed to be satisfied.

Eventually, at long last, Philip said they would take a short break. Anausa collapsed onto his knees, and Pyrrha ran up to him with a bottle of water.

"Thanks." He said as he eagerly drank. "I'm really sorry about this, Pyrrha. You must be bored watching me do all of this."

"No, not at all." Pyrrha shook her head. "In fact, it's really cool. You have to work really hard to get to where you are, right? It's really awesome to see you trying so much."

"Well, I still have a long ways to go to be the best." Anausa smiled and ruffled her hair, just in the way she liked it. "But I know as long as I work hard enough, everything will turn out alright."

He drank again, and Pyrrha just watched him. Pyrrha looked out at the grassy field they were sitting on before she turned to him.

"Hey, brother."

"Hm?" Anausa said as he set it down.

"I was just wondering. Do you think I can exercise and train with you?"

Anausa frowned at that.

"Why?"

Pyrrha shrugged.

"It seems fun, and you look cool doing it. So I want to be cool, too."

"Well, it is a lot of work." Anausa said. "Sometimes, there are days where I wonder why I work so hard and only get through with toughness. And it is not like Coach can teach you and me the exact same things at the same time."

"I see." Pyrrha looked down at the ground. "I guess that is true."

"Hey, I didn't say you could not train!" Anausa laughed. "But maybe I can work with you. Teach you some basics. And then if you like that, we will see what happens next. Coach always says you have to start with the small things first, you know."

"You'd be willing to teach me?"

"Of course, Pyrrha. Of course. Do you want to?"

"Absolutely!" Pyrrha cried out. "So when can we start?"

"Definitely not now, because the boy's break was up two minutes ago."

Philip stood over the two of them, his expression as blank as ever.

"Time for you to get up and stop lollygagging, boy. Get running."

"Well, sir…" Anausa hesitated. "Can I run carrying my sister?"

Phillip stared at Anausa before finally shrugging.

"The extra weight will be good for you."

Anausa bent down and put his arms behind him, and Pyrrha clambered on. And with that, he began running. He was hot. He was sweaty. He smelled.

But as he ran carrying Pyrrha, she was perfectly happy like this.

...

...

OOC: If anyone cares, I guess I'm back. This will run about 15 chapters. Chapters 2 and 3 are already written, but I'll give it a few days until I actually post it.


	2. Aura

"Ugh…"

Pyrrha's father groaned as he slipped out of bed, only pausing to shut off the alarm. He took care not to disturb his sleeping wife as he got up and stretched before glancing at the clock.

"Five o'clock…" He muttered to himself. "Can't believe I have to get up this early. Stupid office meeting."

Yawning, he shuffled off to the kitchen where he switched on the lights and put a kettle on the stove. But as he waited for the water to boil, he noticed movement outside.

"Hm?"

Still rubbing his eyes, he headed to the front door. As he opened it, he looked with surprise at who was in front of him.

"Pyrrha?"

His daughter was dressed in a t-shirt and shorts, with her back turned towards her father. She placed her left arm under her chin, grabbing her left elbow with her opposite hand in a classic stretch.

"Hello again!" She said as she turned around. "Father, you're going to work, right?"

"Yeah." He nodded. "But what are you doing, Pyrrha? It is early outside."

"I'm just doing some stretches before I go on a run." She answered. "Nothing too serious. Just two miles. Maybe three."

" _Just_ a three mile run? Pyrrha, do you do this every day?"

"Well, not every day. Just a few times a week. Brother says I do have to rest every now and then."

"Where is Anausa?"

Pyrrha just shrugged and pointed inside.

"Sleeping, I guess?"

"So he is sleeping while you're…" Pyrrha's father trailed off. "Pyrrha, you have been training with Anausa for what, six months now?"

"A little more than a year, actually."

He sighed and sat back down on the porch steps.

"Pyrrha, when Anausa first said you wanted to train with him, I have to admit that I thought you would just do it for a week and then forget about it. But you've been doing this for all this time, so I might as well want to ask you.

Do you want to compete like Anausa does?"

"In tournaments?" Pyrrha asked. "Like brother? I'm just nine, is that old enough?"

"Well, it's not like I would be entering you in the Mistrali Regional tournament this weekend." Her father laughed. "But there are local tournaments where you could learn to compete. If you want to try it for a bit, I would have no problem with it.

But there's more to training in the tournaments than running and calisthenics. It is about fighting, after all. If you don't know how to fight, it does not matter how athletic you are."

"That would be really interesting." Pyrrha nodded. "Are you going to teach me how to fight?"

"No. But I know someone who will."

…

…

Phillip pinched his nose as he looked down at Pyrrha, before he looked over at Pyrrha's father.

"Are you sure about this, Patroclus?"

The red-haired man shrugged as he sat down on a nearby outside bench. The three of them were in the back yard again.

"No, I'm not. But then again, I'm not the right person to ask."

"That is true." Phillip looked over at Pyrrha. "So what do you think, girl? Do you really want to learn how to fight?"

Pyrrha hesitated a bit. Her father and her mother had told her. Fighting was wrong. She had been teased a bit by her classmates because of how tall she was, but she had never attacked them. Sometimes she told the teacher, but most of the time she ignored them.

But if her brother learned how to fight, it was okay, right?

"I think so." She finally nodded.

Phillip looked Pyrrha up and down. Then he bent down, just like that day.

"Do you know what I think, girl?" He said. "I think you are a little girl who is in over her head. That you will do this for two weeks, cry a lot, and quit. You are not the first kid I have dealt with who tells me what they want to fight, normally because they want to be a _super cool Huntress_. But when it is time for them to put the work involved, they suddenly decide that being one is not so cool anymore.

I do not care whether you fail or not, girl. But I do not like to waste my time. So I will be tough on you from the beginning to know that you can handle it. You will probably cry. You will definitely suffer. And you may even hate me. But that is what I am going to do if you are going to start training under me. Above all else, I need to know that you are tough enough.

Now that you know all that, are you still willing to go through this?"

Pyrrha gritted her teeth at those harsh words.

"My name is Pyrrha Nikos." She said, her voice strong. "If I say I am going to do something, I will do it. So yes, Coach. I am ready to begin."

"Spoken well." Phillip stood up.

WHAM!

And with those words, he promptly punched Pyrrha in the stomach.

Pyrrha gasped and doubled over. As she coughed for breath, she looked first at her father, but saw that he did not react at all. She then looked at Phillip, who watched her slowly get on her knees.

"What…" She managed to get the word out. "Why?"

"Were you not listening to what I said earlier?" Phillip said as if the answer to her question was obvious. "Above all else, I need to know if you are tough enough. So to put it quite simply, I am going to start by attacking and seeing how well you defend yourself.

I am not a monster. I will not do anything permanent. But I expect you to rely on your instincts and try to defend yourself.

Now, get up."

Slowly, Pyrrha straggled upright and lifted both her arms up, trying to protect her face.

"Good." Phillip nodded. "Your brother just tried to get away from me, and you will eventually. But I like that you are willing to stand up to me.

But remember what I said. You will cry. You will suffer. The path to being a great Huntress is not easy. So let us begin."

He immediately launched a right fist straight at Pyrrha, who instinctively tried to block it.

THWACK!

And she succeeded, though her arm still stung as Phillip's fist connected. He then swung his left at her face and Pyrrha promptly blocked it with her right. She could see him smile, and then…

BAM!

Kneed her in the stomach. As Pyrrha doubled down onto the ground again, Phillip looked down at her.

"I am not just doing this to test your toughness. The first lesson to learn is that in a fight, there is no perfect technique which will guarantee victory.

Do not hesitate to use any trick to win. Throw sand in my eyes, kick your opponent in their privates. A fight against the Grimm or terrorists is not some noble duel. It is a fight for your life.

So fight me like your life depends on it. Get up."

Pyrrha was faster to get up this time, and she assumed the same stance. Without any hesitation, she charged at Phillip again.

She got knocked down again. But every time Phillip drove her to the ground, she eventually rose up. And as Phillip watched, he nodded imperceptibly.

…

…

"Agh…augh…"

Pyrrha grunted and moaned as she rolled around in her bed. The fight against Coach Phillip, as tough as it had been, had not been the worst part of the day. Coach Phillip then had her run, jump and exercise just like she had been doing with Anausa. Despite all how exhausted she was, Phillip continued to work her until the sun went down.

"I'll see you in a few days." He had said when he left. "Prepare yourself. The second day of any training is always the hardest."

Despite all of Phillip's attacks, Pyrrha had only suffered a few small bruises on her arms. Her father had bandaged her up, but the fact that her injuries were small did not take away the pain of the blows and her aching muscles. The same pain which kept her from sleeping.

Pyrrha tossed and turned in bed for a bit longer, but eventually gave up and sat up. She glanced out the window as she did so.

"Is that…brother?"

Anausa was sitting in the backyard, but she could not tell what he was doing. Pyrrha watched him just sit there for a while longer. Then she got out of bed, put on her slippers, and hobbled outside.

Her brother was still sitting as she came out, and Pyrrha saw that his head was looking up at the sky. He continued to do so even when Pyrrha's footsteps rustled over the grass.

"Hey, Pyrrha." He said. "Can't sleep?"

"Yeah."

"My first night training under Coach was like that too." He smiled at her. "Father told me what happened. He said you did really well. He also said that Coach Phillip was actually impressed with how you blocked some of his strikes."

"Really?" Pyrrha said. "He didn't say that to me."

"Father and Coach go way back, he knows what he is thinking." Anausa shrugged. "Overall, sounds like you had a pretty good first day. I just got bloodied over and over again until I stayed down, and that was all there is to it."

"I got bloodied too." Despite the pain, Pyrrha showed her left arm, which had a few bruises on it. Anausa looked at it, but then took Pyrrha's fingers in his own.

"Let me see." He said. He raised his other hand over Pyrrha's bruises, and a faint glow shone around his hand. Pyrrha gasped as she watched the bruises slowly fade away, though the pain still remained.

"It's my Semblance." Anausa shrugged. "Nothing special, I'm just really good at healing others. Better than most people can heal themselves with their Auras, never mind that I can heal those who haven't unlocked their Aura. Like you."

"That's incredible!" Pyrrha gasped, gazing at her arm like it was brand new.

"Well, I need it." Anausa laughed. "I may not be the best or the most skilled of Coach's students. But I'm certainly the toughest. I don't give up until I'm well and truly beat, it is how I have managed to accomplish so much. Even if I have not won a tournament yet."

Pyrrha and Anausa laughed at that, and then Pyrrha looked around.

"What were you doing out here, brother?"

"Watching the stars." Anausa smiled. "Can you sit down with me?"

Pyrrha hesitated a bit, but then plopped down and tried not to get her pajamas dirty. She then looked up at the sky, where she could see hundreds of bright lights dotting the night sky.

"The stars are a great reminder of how small we are, and how so little we have accomplished." Anausa said. "Someday, I would love to explore the stars and see other planets."

"Isn't that impossible right now?"

"Sure, we can't use Dust to get up there." Anausa shrugged. "But that doesn't mean it's impossible. You put enough work, good things will happen. That is how the world works.

But I guess we have to focus on the things down here first. Like clearing out the Grimm."

"Huh?"

Pyrrha looked over at Anausa with a puzzled expression. Of course she knew what the Grimm were. But it was not exactly a friendly topic to chat about. A lot of people just wanted to pretend that they didn't exist. And her brother wore a sad smile as he said those last words.

"Hey, Pyrrha." He suddenly whispered. "Can you keep a secret?"

"What kind of secret?" She asked.

"A super special secret. Can you promise to never tell anyone? Cross your heart and hope to die?"

Pyrrha made a cross sign above her heart, but Anausa did not look any more relieved. Then he looked back up at the stars.

"I want to be a Hunter someday." He said.

"A Hunter?" Pyrrha said. "Like you want to fight the Grimm?"

"Yeah." Anausa answered, but said nothing more. Silence reigned over the two for a bit longer, and then Pyrrha asked a question.

"Why do you want that to be a secret? Some of my friends at school talk about wanting to be a Hunter someday."

"Father wouldn't approve." Anausa said. "Oh, sure, he lets me fight. I even got to forge a weapon and attend Sanctum Academy and fight in tournaments. But it is not like everyone who goes to Sanctum moves on to the real combat schools like Haven or Beacon.

But he says that if I want to make the world a better place, I should try to be a doctor. Or pick up some other, less violent occupation. Being a doctor is certainly nice and pays more than a Hunter. But I just think I can do a lot more to help people as a Hunter. He has said he won't let me go to Haven, and I really don't want to think about how I will persuade him to change his mind. Bringing it up now won't help.

Still, I'll be in Sanctum for a few more years. Guess it isn't anything to be worried about for now. I'm sure he'll see what I can do when I win the next tournament."

He shrugged and continued to watch the stars, saying nothing more. Pyrrha sat alongside him for a while, the two saying nothing at all. Eventually, she yawned.

"I think I'm going to bed."

She stood up and began to make her way across the yard, but then she heard Anausa say something. She turned around, but his eyes were still up at the stars.

"Did you say something?"

Anausa did not respond, and Pyrrha turned away. But before she headed inside, he spoke again.

"Do you believe in destiny?"

Pyrrha just stood there, not sure what to say at first.

"I don't really know what that word means." She finally answered. "I mean, I kind of do. But not really."

"Yeah, I guess that's how it is." Anausa calmly said. "Just an idle thought. Goodnight, Pyrrha."

"Goodnight, brother."

With those words, Pyrrha trudged back inside, leaving him to watch the stars. He continued to stare up at the sky, doing nothing else.

…

…

"Agh!"

"Get up."

Pyrrha quickly sprang up to her feet, holding her fists out in front of her. It had been three weeks since Phillip had first began training her, and he came back every two days. Every time they sparred with their fists. Every time Pyrrha ended up flat on her back and kneeling on the ground. And every time she tried to get up. Sometimes she couldn't manage it, but she would notice an odd glint in Phillip's eyes when she really had to struggle to get up.

She held her left arm out in front of her, with her right arm a bit behind her. It was a stance she had grown to like, where she would defend with her left arm and strike with her stronger right arm. It had not worked on landing an actual blow on Phillip, but nothing had. And it seemed to prevent her from tasting dirt.

Well, less often.

Phillip charged at her again, but stopped right before her and delivered a quick kick to her face. Pyrrha instantly ducked, but she didn't attack the opening. She had seen this before. He would just back away, even with one leg, and get her then.

Instead, she reached her left arm out to grab his extended leg. Unfortunately, Phillip was just too fast. He pulled his leg and then kicked again. Pyrrha barely managed to block it with her right and kept it up as he kicked again and again. She gritted her teeth from the pain, but said nothing as she looked for an opening.

Phillip kept one leg on the ground, and kicked again, and Pyrrha finally acted. She bulled forward, wincing as Phillip's kick connected with her shoulder. But she wrapped her arms around Phillip's stomach and tried to push him onto the ground.

She could see Phillip's normally stolid expression change and his eyes widen just a smidgen, but he was still too skilled. He broke out of Pyrrha's grip and shoved her back. She stumbled back, instinctively closed her eyes as she prepared for a kick which she knew would hurt…

But nothing happened. When she opened her eyes, Phillip's arms were folded. And for the first time since she had begun training with him, there was the faintest outline of a smile.

"You did well." He said, his voice flat as usual. "You have made more progress in these three weeks than your brother did in three months. I lost count of how many times I had to throw him down to the ground until he did anything remotely irritating. I also like how you have hung tough no matter how much we trained.

So, congratulations. You will not be a complete waste of my time after all. We should then begin the next step and activate your Aura."

Pyrrha couldn't help but grin.

"Wait, really?"

"I would not be happy if I were you." Phillip said. "One of the most basic uses of Aura is to treat wounds. Which means that you can recover from injuries faster. Which means that if you thought the exercises I put you through the last few weeks were bad, you have seen nothing yet.

Of course, if you want to back out now, you can." He continued. "You can just focus on building a healthy body. Exercise is good for you after all."

Pyrrha glared at him.

"I said I want to do this." She snapped a bit. "Stop treating me like I'm a kid."

"You are still a child." Phillip answered. "But that is neither here or there. Let us get started."

With those words, he placed a rugged hand on her right cheek.

"Close your eyes. Concentrate."

He watched as Pyrrha did so, and then continued, his voice running deeper than normal.

"For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all. Infinite in distance and unbound by death, I release your soul, and by my shoulder protect thee."

He stood back, though Pyrrha noted his shoulders sag a little. But at the same time, she felt…strange. Pure. As if something had been created within her, with a faint hint of warm heat in her stomach. She looked at her hands, and noticed a faint black glow around them before it faded away.

"Well, there it is." Phillip said. "Now that your Aura is unlocked, it is time to learn how to fight with it. At a basic level, using Aura, whether with your fists or a weapon, is just about knowing what forms to take when both attacking and defending.

We will continue to spar as we have in the past, but I will now take the time to teach you the best forms. Let us begin. First, bend your elbows like this…"

He formed a stance, and Pyrrha did his best to copy it. For the next several hours, Pyrrha and Coach Phillip worked on channeling Aura. Then Phillip took out a set of practice dummies and watched her try to use the Aura to destroy them. When her father came back, he noticed Pyrrha working with Phillip in the distance.

He waved at Pyrrha, and she gave a quick wave before attempting to destroy the next dummy. And even after supper, she continued to work late into the night.


End file.
